Botanical.xe2x80x94Rosa hybrida xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99.
Commercial.xe2x80x94Miniature.
The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of miniature rose plant which originated from a controlled crossing between xe2x80x98POULnetoxe2x80x99 and xe2x80x98Rumbaxe2x80x99, both unpatented varieties. The two parents were crossed during the summer of 1996 and the resulting seeds were planted in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark. The new variety is named xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99.
The new rose may be distinguished from its seed parent, xe2x80x98POULnetoxe2x80x99, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 has bright orange blooms, whereas the seed parent has soft peach blooms.
2. xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 is a miniature garden rose, whereas xe2x80x98POULnetoxe2x80x99 is utilized in cut-flower production.
3. xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 exhibits more compact and vigorous growth than the seed parent.
The new variety may be distinguished from its pollen parent, xe2x80x98Rumbaxe2x80x99 by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 has bright orange flowers, whereas xe2x80x98Rumbaxe2x80x99 has bi-color (yellow/red) flowers.
2. xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 is suitable for pot rose production, while xe2x80x98Rumbaxe2x80x99 is utilized in cut-flower production.
3. xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 is more compact, even and vigorous in growth when compared xe2x80x98Rumbaxe2x80x99.
The objective of the hybridization of this rose variety was to create a new and distinct variety for garden use with unique qualities, such as:
1. Uniform and abundant flowers;
2. Vigorous and compact growth when propagated by cuttings;
3. Disease resistance.
This combination of qualities is not present in previously available commercial cultivars of this type and distinguish xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 from all other varieties of which we are aware.
As part of their rose development program, L. Pernille Olesen and Mogens N. Olesen germinated the seeds from the aforementioned hybridization during winter 1996 and conducted evaluations on the resulting seedlings in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark.
xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 was selected in the spring of 1997 by the inventors as a single plant from the progeny of the aforementioned hybridization. Asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 by traditional budding and rooted cuttings was first done by L. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen in their nursery in Fredensborg, Denmark in summer 1997. This initial and other subsequent asexual propagations conducted in controlled environments have demonstrated that the characteristics of xe2x80x98POULflagxe2x80x99 are true to type and are transmitted from one generation to the next.